Judas kiss

Two male heads in profile are pressed close together against a flat, saturated blue background, one darker and bearded at left, the other lit in warm ochre and leaning in as if about to kiss or whisper. Below their chins a raw, swollen mass of pink and coral texture spreads across the lower edge like exposed flesh or clasped hands.

The surface is built up in thick, cracked relief, with the acrylic laid over a textured ground so the faces read almost as sculpted bas-relief rather than paint. The high-key blue against warm flesh tones and the tense proximity of the two heads create an unsettled, foreboding mood.